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The Hungarian Grand Prix will definitely go down as an unforgettable race in this year’s Formula 1 season, not just for its racing action, but also for the permanent black marks it has left on driver records.
Only 14 out of 20 drivers ended up finishing the race – five of them were involved in a Turn 1 crash in the first lap.
To analyse and collate all the action that will affect the Belgian Grand Prix and the rest of the season after the summer break, GulfWeekly takes a closer look at the significant penalties handed out.
Right off the bat, Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes is set to receive a five-place grid penalty for causing the first-lap crash in Hungary.
Bottas made a poor start and then lost control behind Lando Norris (Mclaren) at the first corner, in damp conditions, at the Hungaroring.
He hit the McLaren from behind and sent Norris skittling into Max Verstappen (Red Bull), while Bottas subsequently took out the other Red Bull car, driven by Sergio Perez.
Perez was eliminated on the spot, Verstappen continued with a broken car while Norris made it back to the pits but did not rejoin the race after the red flag because his car was too damaged.
The stewards took track conditions into account but ultimately found Bottas ‘fully to blame for the collision’.
They have given Bottas a five-place grid penalty for the next round and awarded him two licence penalty points.
Lance Stroll suffered the same penalty after mounting the inside kerb at Turn 1 and was deemed ‘fully to blame’ for taking himself and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc out of the race.
Norris and Perez continue to have the most penalty points on the grid, each clocking in at eight.
Williams’ Latifi carries six penalty points.
The Aston Martin team of Stroll and Sebastian Vettel carry six points apiece, while Kimi Raikkonen holds five penalty points.
So does Nikita Mazepin of Haas, who picked up all his penalties in his rookie year, with no championship points to show for it.
Bottas, meanwhile, has just four points, just like his team
mate Lewis Hamilton.
Although Vettel was robbed of his second place finish due to insufficient fuel for a sample, he won’t be getting any penalties in the coming race.
